SVP successfully relied on fear and coolness at the same time
The SVP has also succeeded in mobilizing new voters. While it continued to appeal to its core voters by playing on the fear surrounding asylum—a topic it has been exploiting for years—it also presented itself quite differently on social media: upbeat, positive, and with a healthy dose of self-deprecating humor.
"In the Blocher era, the SVP was a party that always gave the thumbs down," campaign consultant Daniel Graf told the news agency SDA on Monday. However, ranting alone does not garner many sympathy points outside of restaurant restaurants. "It doesn't appeal to the Facebook generation."
Positive emotions
With its videos published on the internet, the SVP has managed to arouse new, positive emotions. "And the (Facebook) thumbs went up," said Graf. The SVP can now even afford to make fun of itself in a film. "Using irony in an election campaign is actually a high-risk game." But for the national-conservative SVP, it seemed "cool" when former Federal Councillor Christoph Blocher jumped into the swimming pool in the election campaign clip "Welcome to SVP". Lausanne political scientist Oscar Mazzoleni has also heard the new tones in the SVP election campaign: "The SVP is playing with self-irony. Its representatives have succeeded in showing that they are not always serious, but can also be funny and amusing, especially in their video clip. They have succeeded in showing that they are not evil." The SVP also succeeded in "neutralizing certain criticisms". The SVP had won over voters who were not necessarily SVP voters and also mobilized new voters, said Mazzoleni. "But the SVP's political line remains constant. The party has not weakened anything in terms of content." Political scientist Werner Seitz also suspects that the SVP has mobilized new voters. The party was probably also helped by the fact that fewer voters from other parties went to the polls.
High online presence
Facebook is the most important social media tool for reaching and mobilizing the masses online, said campaign consultant Daniel Graf. The SVP has succeeded more than any other party in spreading its visibility across the entire Internet via Facebook and disseminating its "black and white issues". "Facebook hardly knows any shades of gray. Parties with differentiated messages therefore have a harder time." The Greens, for example, were very active on Facebook with many posts. But they only reached their own clientele. (SDA)
